The United Nations Human Rights Council is set to vote next week on whether to renew the mandates of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation in Belarus and the special rapporteur on Belarus, with rights organizations arguing that both mechanisms remain essential as the country’s human rights crisis continues. Human Rights Watch and other civil society groups say Belarusian authorities are still carrying out serious abuses inside the country while also targeting Belarusians living in exile, making continued international scrutiny crucial for both monitoring violations and supporting future accountability efforts.
The statement emphasizes that Belarus has maintained a broad and sustained crackdown on dissent, targeting human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, opposition figures, protesters, and activists. According to the groups, at least 860 people remain imprisoned simply for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms, while many detainees continue to face torture, ill-treatment, and harsh detention conditions. Former political prisoners, including some who have only recently been released, are reportedly being forced into exile, and independent human rights organizations can no longer legally operate inside the country.
A recent report presented by the Group of Independent Experts during the current Human Rights Council session is cited as further evidence of the severity of the situation. It documents ongoing patterns of arbitrary detention of people perceived as opposing the government, inhumane prison conditions, torture, ill-treatment, deaths in custody, and newly confirmed patterns of forced exile, coerced pardon requests, and transnational repression. The report concludes that some of these violations may amount to crimes against humanity, underscoring the gravity of the abuses and the need for sustained international attention.
The Group of Independent Experts is described as particularly important because it gathers, preserves, and analyzes evidence of serious violations and helps identify those potentially responsible, laying groundwork for future accountability. Its work has gained additional significance following the recent decision by the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s office to open an investigation into alleged crimes by Belarusian authorities that were committed at least partly on the territory of Lithuania, a member of the ICC. This development suggests that international legal pathways are still active and that evidence collected through UN mechanisms could prove highly valuable.
At the same time, the special rapporteur on Belarus is presented as a vital ongoing monitor and a key channel of support for Belarusian civil society, ensuring that the broader range of rights violations remains visible at the international level. Rights groups argue that renewing both mandates together is necessary because one focuses on long-term accountability while the other provides continuous expert oversight and public reporting on the deteriorating situation.
Overall, the appeal to the Human Rights Council is that it should renew both mandates to send a clear and unequivocal message that the international community remains alert to the scale and systematic nature of the abuses in Belarus. According to Belarusian and international civil society organizations, maintaining these mechanisms is not only essential for documenting ongoing violations but also for supporting victims, preserving evidence, and reinforcing the prospect that justice and accountability may eventually be achieved.
